MilSpouse Friday Fill-In

I actually have a few things on my mind to blog about but I decided to participate in the MilSpouse Friday Fill-In instead!  Wife of a Sailor is starting a fun meme called MilSpouse Friday Fill-In.  Every Thursday she's going to post a list of questions as a way to get to know all the mil spouses out there in the blogosphere.  All you have to do is answer her questions in a blog post on Fridays and link it up on her blog.  It's that easy!

1. How did you and your spouse/significant other meet? Facebook (back when it was strictly college students).  Yeah.  We actually had a mutual friend "introduce" us on there so I didn't just hunt down some random hottie, but we chatted/talked on the phone for the last 2 months he was at West Point then actually started dating the day after he graduated.
2. What is the best thing about being a MilSpouse? job security, meeting lots of different people and TRAVELING! 
3. What is the hardest thing about being a MilSpouse? missing the big moments in our friends/families lives.  I hate having to RSVP no to all the weddings/graduations/birthdays!
4. What is your favorite dish? anything new!  I'm obsessed with trying new food right now!
5. If you could change one thing in this world, what would it be? ignorance.  This changes daily though depending on what is irritating me at the moment.  Right now, it's stupid people.  On a basic level, I just don't understand how someone who does not know whether to use which/witch or there/their/they're in a sentence has a high school diploma!  On a higher level...I'm just not going to get into that today!

confession

 I separate my Nerds and eat them by color...least favorite to most favorite (orange, green, purple, pink, yellow)

a little bit of everything...LOTS OF PICTURES!!

Being married to the military, we miss out on many of the biggest moments in our friends/families lives.  Luckily, this was one event we didn't have to miss!  My husband's brother (Nicholas) and cousin (Chase) both graduated from Ohio University last weekend and were commissioned into the US Army.  Our schedules allowed us to travel to Athens and Jason was able to give them both the Army Officer Oath of Office.  It was such a proud moment for everyone involved (and there were LOTS of us there).  We still have one more family member at OU in the ROTC program, and I pray that one of the 3 who are already commissioned are able to be there for his commencement, it just makes it a little more special/personal.

The graduates

The hubs and I at graduation (please ignore those hideous sunglasses someone gave him to replace the ones he lost!)

The paparazzi at commencement (told ya there were a LOT of us!)

Jason giving Nicholas his oath

and Chase's oath

So proud of these men

and me with my favorite Army Officers

(pardon the no bra look, but that's what happens when 90% of your belongings are en route to Japan!)

***************

The sad part of being able to make it to graduation/commencement was that I had to miss the wedding of one of my favorite sisters in Christ.  It's crazy how every single decision we make adds up.  About a month before I married my husband, we were in Cincinnati for Christmas with our families when we ran into an ex-boyfriend of mine at Best Buy.  He told me he was working as a youth pastor/music leader at a church down the road.  I filed that meeting away and when I moved back to Cincinnati after my husband deployed, I decided I needed a church to belong to, mostly just to occupy some of my time.  So I called up my ex and went to a service at his church.  What I found there was a new family.  An amazing new family.  The people at that church (and my fierce independence) are what got me through that deployment.  Rebecca was there for me from day one and I was honored to watch her relationship with her new boyfriend develop from "I'm not ready to say the 'L' word" to  planning their wedding.  I was able to attend their rehearsal/rehearsal dinner and, although it wasn't the wedding, it was still a pretty special night!

Um, how could you not want to go to the wedding of 2 people who are this fun at the rehearsal?!?!

They had the dinner at a local arcade, and yes, she had "I DO" written on her ring finger!

Practicing for their big moment 

I LOVE this girl!

I wish you both nothing but the best and I hope you are having an amazing time in GREECE!!!!!!!

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While I was home for 3 weeks, I had a chance to take some photos for my sister to send to her boyfriend fiancé husband (still getting used to that one) who is deployed. 

Time to go pick up the husband from class =)

FINALLY!!!!!!

I finally sit down to write a post and blogger wasn't working for 2 days..go figure!  The last 2 weeks have felt like ETERNITY!  I’ve been in Cincinnati with friends/family while the hubs has been back in Missouri going to some schools so he doesn’t have to burn through all this leave.  An update in photos:

I saw my hometown hockey team win the championship

if this doesn't say "hockey", I don't know what does!

and celebrate it with my husband (while he was still in town) and some of my best friends

Went to a bridal shower where we ate one too many cupcakes

 

Celebrated my best friends birthday

Went to another bridal shower where the bride got some fun gifts...

 

FINALLY got my vanilla ice cream with rainbow sprinkles!

Went to a comedy show, that was actually pretty funny

 

Went to Taste of Cincinnati with my mom and sister

and ate way too much yummy food, including

fried pickles

sauerkraut balls

chicken teriyaki

a crab cake

some corn

and some ooey gooey chocolate covered cream puff (mom's favorite!)

Went to a Reds game

A family reunion where I learned how to play croquet (I AM AWFUL AT THIS GAME!)

and met my mom's cousin's super cute new baby

 Flew to SLC

Drove from SLC to Cincinnati in a UHaul with one of my best friends

ate some of the most amazing food ever in Cheyenne, WY

 and made lots of stops to refill my $1 Coke

Saw Josh Hoge in Lexington, KY

Volunteered with Paint The Town Cincinnati

 

went to a low key but still tons of fun bachelorette party

and got to paint some pottery (I can't wait to see it finished!)

and I finally was in town to celebrate a siblings birthday
(my brother, the birthday boy, and his fiance)

and my mom, sister and I

And these are just the things I have photos of!  I hope this explains my absence.  I promise I haven’t been ignoring this blog intentionally!  I’ll be honest, the next weeks months will probably be just as crazy, but I promise to post as often as I can find time!